HOOK UP

ohGr"November 24, 2008"

El Corazon, Seattle, USA

Being the overly neurotic person that I am, I had a mild fear that I would be out of place and not recognize Ohgr when they took the stage. As it turns out, Ohgr's own fans don't recognize them either -- mistaking the opening act American Memory Project for them. If anything, not recognizing the band just helped me to fit in.

Ogre and crew took the stage all dressed in bizarre, silver outfits. Ogre stood facing away from the crowd wearing a grotesque wig-lens combination that made him appear like a monster. Later he shed the mask and faced the crowd; maybe assuming everyone had seen enough of his ass.

The first half of the concert focused mainly on songs from "Devils In My Details." This portion of the show dragged at times. Songs started off strong but seemed to go on for just a little bit too long. Bips and blips can work well on a CD, but they can be tiring live… especially on a Monday after 10pm. Vocal effects that sound solid on CD did not translate well to stage, coming off as more cheesy than edgy. The spoken word portions were especially painful. What was meant to be somber came off as silly.

It wasn't until Ogre announced that the first part of the concert was the conceptual half, and that they were going to "negate everything they had done" that the concert really began to pick up. The non-conceptual portion of the show was heavy on "Welt" songs which were faster paced and more energized. The crowd seemed especially into songs off "Welt." The concert ended after two encores with "Cracker."

Overall, the show was enjoyable, but suffered from a slow start. Highlights included "wAteR," "luSId," and "Timebomb."